"We made [Horwill's unavailability] clear early on, and Jake probably read a bit too much into it than what it was,

"For those guys it is unfortunate, but we wanted to make definite decisions early so we can prepare properly. The players know what's going and we don't think there's any rush to let the Brumbies know what we're going to do, and we'll announce our team sometime tomorrow."

Queensland hold the Rod Macqueen Cup after winning both clashes with the Brumbies last season, and McKenzie is unhappy his side has been installed as underdogs for the opening round encounter.